Stained glass window in the St. Andrew's College dining hall

Stained glass window in the St. Andrew's College dining hall

This is a photograph of the stained glass windows in the St. Andrew's College dining hall, originally installed in 1857 by Edward Burne-Jones. Edward Burne-ones was one of the most visionary artists of the Victorian era, and was known for his attention to detail and his religious stained glass images. Many of his stained glass panes are featured in churches and college campuses. James Powell and his sons are pictured in this specific set of panes. Though the stained glass windows pictured are in a school dining hall, it can be assumed that these types of windows would also be seen in libraries also, as libraries have historically been more ornamentally decorated than simple dining halls. "The Library Window" made me think of the fantastical properties of stained glass windows. The narrator of "The Library Window" seems to be seeing her world through a different, more magical lens when she looks through the library window, similar to the experience of a viewer of stained glass. Not only do these seemingly magic panes fill a room with color when light shines through them, but they offer a person a new lens to look at the world through when looking out through them. Not saying that the window, whether real or not, in "The Library Window" is stained glass, but these two windows seem to have the same immersive properties in the way that they offer the viewer a more fantastical world. After all, people say the world always looks better through rose-tinted glasses.

Photographed by Wildman, Stephen and Christian, John, Made originally by Edward Burne-Jones

Wildman, Stephen, et al. Edward Burne-Jones: Victorian Artist-Dreamer. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Book published in 1998, Stained glass made and installed in 1857.

Image from a book